How It Works « Stirling IT Web Design

If you have never commissioned a custom website before, you may be wondering what will happen when you contact us. We have created this guide to help you understand the journey your web design project will take, from conception to completion.

Step 1: The Proposal – we discuss your ideas and work out what you need.
Step 2: Initial Design – our designers create a mock-up for your approval.
Step 3: Construction – our developers build the approved design on our test server.
Step 4: Adding Content – the completed design is populated with your text and photos.
Step 5: Training Session – one hour of easy training teaches you how to log in and make updates.
Step 6: Website is Launched! – the website is moved onto its permanent web server and goes live.
Step 7: But it doesn’t end there – you continue to receive a full 12 months of support and aftercare.

Step 1: The Proposal

All projects start with an idea. You can fill out our questionnaire or give us a call on 01786 446633 with your thoughts.

In order for us to understand what you are looking for, you should be as specific as possible and list all the features you would like (eg. web shop, Facebook feed, mobile responsive design)

It also helps us know what you are looking for if you can give us links to other websites you like the look of, your current website (if you have one), and any of your competitors.

Step 2: Initial Design

Our graphic designer will use your ideas to create the overall design. This normally takes between one to two weeks. Once the design is ready we will send it to you for approval.

If you are not happy with the design we may take a step back to the Proposal phase in order to clarify and better understand your needs, then we will revise the design.

At this early stage, the design is only a mockup. Any text used in the mockup probably won’t be copied into the final website. You may see ‘gibberish’ words like Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit… This is Latin filler text called Lorem Ipsum.

You can learn more about what this is and why designers use it at www.lipsum.org.

Don’t worry! Your website will not have any filler text when it goes live so try not to focus on what content you see in the design we send you.

The mockup is primarily to confirm that you are happy with the colour scheme, images, and positioning of layout elements like the logo, menu and content boxes.

Step 3: Construction

When you are happy with the initial design, we begin the development and construction phase.

During this phase we’ll turn the designer’s mockup into a fully interactive website.

This is generally the most time-consuming part of the process but we will keep in touch with you regularly to let you know how it’s progressing.

Step 4: Adding Content

Once the website is fully functional, it needs some good, high-quality content. If you have an existing website we can usually copy the content across from that. For the purposes of SEO (ie. your website’s ranking in search engine results) we recommend all content is either updated or rewritten fresh for the new website.

If you have no existing content we will ask you to provide some text and/or pictures for each page.

Step 5: Training Session

Once everything is in place and you are happy, we will contact you to arrange a training session.

This is the home stretch! Everything is in place, all that’s left is for you to take the reins.

We will walk you through every step of managing your website, from logging in, to editing pages, to uploading images and adding products. WordPress is easy to use and quick to learn. The training session normally takes between 30 and 60 minutes.

It’s usually best if we visit you at your office or home so you can do the training using a computer you are familiar with. If a visit is not practical then we can log into your computer over the internet and give you the training session over the phone.

Step 6: Website is Launched!

Finally, we transfer your finished website to its permanent home on our web server. We will also manage the domain name setup and configuration. Your site is now visible to the world.

At this stage we will also create your new email accounts @yourdomain.com which can be accessed via a web browser, via an email application like Outlook or Thunderbird, or on your mobile phone or tablet.

Step 7: But it doesn’t end there

After the website is launched, we continue to provide aftercare and support for a full 12 months. Any time you need it, assistance is just an email or phonecall away.

You will also receive a full 12 months of web and email hosting for free, including free technical support in case you need help.

On July 15, 2015 /

How It Works